People v. Diaz CA1/3

Filed 5/5/25 P. v. Diaz CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. A169858 PABLO NICHOLAS DIAZ, (Contra Costa County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. 012201651)

A jury convicted Pablo Nicholas Diaz of 28 sex crimes against a child. On appeal, he primarily contends there was insufficient evidence he committed the offenses by means of duress. We affirm but remand for the trial court to correct the abstract of judgment. BACKGROUND In October 2022, the prosecutor charged Diaz with 28 crimes for sexually abusing Jane Doe. They included three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child by oral copulation (counts 1, 9, & 16), sexual penetration of a child under 14 (count 2), 18 counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child (counts 3-8, 10-15, 17-22), four counts of lewd acts upon a child (counts 23-26), forcible oral copulation of a minor over 14 (count 27), and sexual battery by restraint (count 28). (Pen. Code, §§ 269, subd. (a)(4), 289, subd. (a)(1)(B), 288, subds. (b)(1), (c)(1), 287, subd. (c)(2)(C), 243.4, subd. (a); undesignated statutory references are to this code.)

1

Diaz and Doe’s mother started dating when Doe was seven or eight. He and Doe got along well, and he was kind to her. He took her out a lot, including to parks and restaurants. When Doe was nine or 10, she, her mother, her younger sister, and Diaz moved into an apartment together. Doe and her younger sister shared a bedroom, and she often slept in Doe’s bed because Doe was afraid of the dark. Diaz acted as a father figure, and Doe thought of him as her father. She trusted him. Over time, he became more affectionate — hugging, touching, and kissing her. He also began sleeping with her when she was afraid of the dark. When Doe turned 11, Diaz started molesting her when he slept in her bed. The first time she remembers, she was sleeping in his arms when he grabbed her hand, put it in his pajama pants, and on his penis. She did not know what to do and pretended to be asleep. The abuse continued — he sexually touched her or made her sexually touch him over 100 times from when she was 11 to 13. He touched her breasts, forced her hand onto his penis about 50 times, and orally copulated her at least 100 times before she turned 14. He also removed her clothing and rubbed his bare penis between her legs, on her vagina, on her butt, and her mouth over 100 times before she turned 14. When she was 13, he tried to insert his finger into her vagina, but she jolted away in pain. Another night, he rubbed his penis on her lips and put semen on her lips and inside her mouth. She inexplicably woke up without her pants around 50 times. Diaz entered Doe’s bedroom five nights a week until she was about 14. He had a routine — he took off her pants, orally copulated her, and then brushed his teeth. Her little sister was often in the bed, and Doe let him abuse her to protect her sister. Doe often stayed awake to make sure nothing happened to her sister.